ROME (Reuters) -Italy reported 499 coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday against 634 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 12,756 from 14,842.
There were 118,475 swabs carried out in the past day, down from a previous 149,232, the ministry said.
The first Western country hit by the virus, Italy has seen 61,739 COVID-19 fatalities since its outbreak emerged in February, the second highest toll in Europe after Britain. It has also registered 1.77 million cases to date.
Patients in hospital with COVID-19 stood at 29,653 on Wednesday, down 428 from the day before.
There were 152 new admissions to intensive care units, while the number of intensive care patients decreased by 25 to 3,320, reflecting those who died or were discharged after recovery.
When Italy’s second wave of the epidemic was accelerating fast in the first half of November, hospital admissions were rising by around 1,000 per day, while intensive care occupancy was increasing by about 100 per day.
(Reporting by Gavin Jones, editing by Crispian Balmer)
